


The Road Goes Ever On and On

by LostUnderTheSurface



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman Beyond
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-24
Updated: 2016-11-24
Packaged: 2018-09-01 22:04:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8639923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostUnderTheSurface/pseuds/LostUnderTheSurface
Summary: There's a kind of hush that falls over the room when Batman emerges from behind the curtain. Every eye turns to him, and for a single, perfect moment, there is an awed, respectful silence.And then Robin breaks it with a high-pitched giggle and Nightwing snorts in a very unladylike way. Darkwing grunts in distaste as a smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth. Oracle, watching from the monitors, is the only person to conceal his amusement





	

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from The Road Goes Ever On from the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R.Tolkien.

There's a kind of hush that falls over the room when Batman emerges from behind the curtain. Every eye turns to him, and for a single, perfect moment, there is an awed, respectful silence.

And then Robin breaks it with a high-pitched giggle and Nightwing snorts in a very unladylike way. Darkwing grunts in distaste as a smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth. Oracle, watching from the monitors, is the only person to conceal his amusement.

“It's the lack of cape, right?” Batman asks, his youthful voice cracking on the last word. He turns red as Robin giggles delightedly and Nightwing coos.

Oracle shakes his head, artfully hiding the smile that threatens to burst forth. “It's not your fault, Terry,” he says. “You're just...kind of on the short side.”

“He is the night,” Darkwing growls, and Robin belly-laughs, rolling across the floor.

“You are adorable,” Nightwing sighs. “I remember when Damian first put on the suit. He looked like a scare-crow, it was so big on him.”

Darkwing shrugs, flexes his leather-clad fingers. “I was a child, Brown. Not a nineteen-year-old on the cusp of maturation.”

Terry tugs the cowl down over his face and strikes a dramatic pose. “There's a new kind of justice in town,” he hisses, doing his best to lower the teenage tenor he's been cursed with. The effect comes across more like a puberty-stricken preteen attempting to sing bass. A titter ripples unbidden through his audience.

“Oh, please, stop,” Robin gasps, sitting up and wiping tears from her eyes. “That's just...too much.”

When Batman glares at her, she shrugs and grins back. “I can't help it, Boss. You really know how to put the fear into the hearts of criminals!”

Darkwing coughs to hide his laugh and glances away. Nightwing grins maniacally, then spies the frustrated look twisting Batman's cowl and reaches out to put a hand on the boy's shoulder.

“It's okay, Terry,” she says. “You'll get it someday.”

“Even Bruce had his humorous moments,” Oracle reminds him. “His first night on patrol, he didn't even wear a suit. Just a turtleneck and slacks.”

Batman hunches his shoulders and moves to put his hands in his pockets, then remembers he doesn't have any and locks them awkwardly behind his back.

“Still,” he says, “he never got laughed at after he was IN the suit.”

Nightwing chuckles and exchanges glances with Darkwing. “Oh, there were a few times. Good times.”

“Shall we call up Kent?” Darkwing offers. “He could share some excellent anecdotes of Father's blunders in the cowl.”

Batman appears to consider this, then shakes his head and shrugs Nightwing's hand off. “I'm good,” he says. “I'm sure he never made as many mistakes as I've made.”

“You're young,” Oracle points out. “It's excusable.”

Robin bounces up and twirls on one leg, ending her spin with a backward flip that lands her at Batman's side. She links her arm in his companionably. “Besides, you have me to watch your back!” she chirps.

“I feel very safe,” Batman deadpans. Robin pouts dramatically, then reaches up and tugs the cowl off to mess with the infamous cowl hair. Batman snags the cowl back and a small scuffle ensues.

Nightwing watches fondly as Darkwing moves aside to take an incoming call on his comm. Batman and Robin continue their friendly fight, which quickly escalates into a spar involving nunchux and brass knuckles. Oracle types away at something on one of his monitors, a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.

“Batman!” Darkwing interrupts the melee.

Both combatants jerk reflexively to face him, their limbs entangled as they wrestle across the floor. Darkwing sighs and taps his gauntlet to indicate a situation has arisen. “Abuse has called for our assistance at the east end of Chinatown. It seems Red Hood has arrived on the scene.”

“Ooo, messy,” Nightwing comments, waggling her purple-striped fingers. She gestures to the hastily-disentangling Dynamic Duo. “Let's go, kiddos. Time to give Babs and Dick a collective heart attack.”

“You think the GCPD will show up?” Robin asks, straightening her cape as Batman adjusts his cowl.

“Knowing them, they're probably already there,” Oracle comments. He frowns, pushes back the strands of black hair that fall into his eyes. “I'll be monitoring you two out there.”

“No worries,” Batman mutters. Then, louder, “Let's go, Robin.”

“The city needs us!” Robin sings, skipping after her mentor. They disappear onto a lower tier of the cave in the direction of the vehicle bay.

Darkwing waits until they're out of earshot before turning to Nightwing. The woman has removed her mask and is plaiting her long, blond hair into a hasty braid.

“You will keep an eye on them?” he asks. The roar of the Batmobile tearing out of the cave almost drowns out the concern in his voice.

“Of course, Damian.” She smiles, taps his arm in a reassuring gesture. “I'm not letting them out of my sight.”

“Good.”

Nightwing turns to the monitors and gives Oracle a cheery wave. “See you tonight, Honey!” she calls, blowing him a kiss.

Oracle nods in acknowledgment and watches as she jumps down to the lower levels and makes a beeline for her bike. Then he turns to Darkwing, who gives him a quizzical look in return.

“What is it, Drake?”

Oracle huffs a laugh. “It's nothing. Just kind of weird to see her in the finger-stripes. I never thought Dick would—”

“Grayson did what he thought best,” Darkwing interrupts. “And I, for one, do not disagree with his choice.”

A frown wrinkles Oracle's brow as he remembers past choices that did not set as well for him. “This time,” he agrees. “I think Bruce would have approved, too.”

Darkwing snorts. “And the child currently wearing his cowl?”

“You gave it up,” Oracle reminds him. “It was your choice, and it was a good one. Never doubt that.”

“I never have, Drake. I only wish that Father were here.”

There is silence for a moment.

“Me too, Damian,” Oracle says finally. “Me too.”

Darkwing clicks his cape into place and turns to descend to the vehicle bay. “See you in the field, Drake.”

Oracle watches him go, a solemn look on his green-lit face. Then he turns to his computers, the legacy left him by another who has gone on to continue the fight elsewhere.

“Right, then. Back to work.”

Tim Drake puts his hands on the keyboard and begins to type.

**Author's Note:**

> Jason is still Red Hood. I picture him with a mechanical arm, mechanical eye, and the blessed white streak. Dick has the eye-patch from Batman Beyond. Barbara is still crippled. Tim is not.


End file.
